Conclave Summary Overview

Inside the Vatican's secretive papal election, Harris's eerily prescient thriller predicted reality. Praised as his "best novel," this Silver Bestseller became a Ralph Fiennes film that won the USC Scripter Award. What shocking revelation awaits behind the white smoke?

Key Themes in the Conclave Summary

  • papal election
  • vatican power struggle
  • crisis of faith
  • clerical corruption
  • religious tradition vs modernity

Best Quotes from the Conclave Summary

  • You are not a shepherd. You are a manager.

  • I feel nothing when I pray.

  • the Church was built of crooked timber

  • certainty is the great enemy of unity

  • I am what God made me

Characters in the Conclave Summary

  • Cardinal Jacopo LomeliDean of the College of Cardinals and protagonist
  • Cardinal Aldo BelliniItalian liberal candidate for the papacy
  • Cardinal TremblayCanadian cardinal and ambitious Vatican insider
  • Cardinal Joshua AdeyemiNigerian cardinal representing the African bloc
  • Cardinal TedescoConservative Italian cardinal and traditionalist

About the Author

About the Author of Conclave

Robert Dennis Harris CBE is the bestselling author of Conclave and one of Britain's most acclaimed writers of historical and political thrillers. Born in 1957, Harris began his career as a political journalist and BBC correspondent before turning to fiction.

This background provided him with unique insight into the machinations of power that drive Conclave's gripping narrative of papal politics. The novel, set during a secretive Vatican election, showcases Harris's signature ability to blend meticulous historical detail with page-turning suspense—a skill honed across fifteen bestselling novels including Fatherland, Enigma, An Officer and a Spy, and the celebrated Cicero Trilogy.

Harris was inspired to write Conclave while covering the 2013 papal conclave, recognizing parallels between the College of Cardinals and the Roman Senate he'd explored in his ancient Rome novels. He consulted Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor to ensure accuracy, earning rare praise from the Cardinal himself. His works have been translated into 37 languages, and several have been adapted into major films, with Conclave released theatrically in 2024 starring Ralph Fiennes.

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